Dear Parents,

"Never settle for less than your best! You are responsible for you!" This is our class motto that we recite each morning and talk about frequently. The children and I have agreed that these aren't just words to recite but words that we live by in our class. Therefore, the children and I have agreed that sloppy work will no longer be acceptable, whether done in the classroom or on homework. If the child and I agree that they did less than their best in terms of neatness, the assignment will need to be redone. I anticipate that the "neat writer of the day" award will become very competitive and that is a good thing!

The children are getting so excited to see how our gift drive bins are filling up! What a great way to make the holidays brighter for a family in need and, at the same time, reinforce the life skill of generosity with our children. Don't forget the gift drive ends this Friday and the children will be carrying the gifts to the new athletic center that morning. The joy of giving will never be so evident!

The children are also getting excited about our upcoming pajama party! It will be on Friday, December 16th beginning at 8:30 a.m. Your child may wear his/her pajamas to school that morning. It is also spirit day, so they may change into spirit clothes before PE. Please be sure to send in sneakers and socks to change into as well! We will be going to the Lower School Holiday Sing in the theater at 11:00. All parents are welcome to join us for the pajama party - (come in your PJ's too!) - as well as the holiday sing.

Even with all of the excitement of the season, we are still working hard in our classroom. Here is a glimpse of what is going on this week:

Reading/Language Arts: The phonics focus is on the digraphs /kw/qu and /hw/ wh. We will also be practicing more with the inflections -ed, and -ing. Our high frequency words (word card words) are about, books, family, name, people, read, work, and writing. Last week we looked at the genre of realistic fiction (made-up stories that could happen in real life). This week we are talking about biographies (stories about the events in the life of a real person) and will compare the two genres. Our comprehension focus will be on sequencing the events in the stories we read. Knowing the order of events can help us to better understand the information. In grammar, we will be learning when to use the words I and me. In Reader's Workshop, we will work on "retelling" to help build our reading muscles and understand what we read. Readers retell by using character names and details so that retelling makes sense. Please practice retelling with your child when reading at home.

Writer's Workshop: We will continue to work on personal narratives and making our writing easier to read.

Math: We will talk about timelines and developing fact power by working on strategies for addition and subtraction. We will also continue working on telling time to the quarter hour. Telling time is a skill that requires lots of practice. The children brought a laminated analog clock home today to use when practicing at home. Please do this often with your child throughout the year!

Science: We are into our unit on the solar system. If you have not brought the 4 inch styrofoam ball and empty toilet paper tube, please do so as soon as possible. Thank you to those of you that have sent in extras! If anyone has anything that you would like to share with us about this unit, please let me know!

We will also be attending two special productions in the theater this week. On Tuesday at 1:00 we will see "Hans Brinker" and at 1:00 on Wednesday we will be attending the Lower Division Chorus production called "Welcome to the Jungle". We are so lucky to have these experiences at Shorecrest!

Volunteers this week:

• Tuesday - Art - Natalie Ames - 12:00
• Wednesday - No math games due to the chorus show
• Thursday - Library checkout - Kimberly Burke and Ana Brinkley - 12:00
• Friday - Parent Reader - Kevin Williams/Marion O'Mullane - 2:15

Have a terrific week!
Susan